Quintus Horatius Flaccus, known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus. Profoundly inspirational Horace quotes will make you look at life differently and help you live a meaningful life.
If you’re searching for quotes by famous poets that perfectly capture what you’d like to say or just want to feel inspired yourself, browse through an amazing collection of profound John Keats quotes, famous Omar Khayyam quotes and top Robert Burns quotes.
Famous Horace Quotes
Why do you hasten to remove anything which hurts your eye, while if something affects your soul you postpone the cure until next year? — Horace
Leave the rest to the gods. — Horace
Strange – is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us of the road Which to discover we must travel too. — Horace
It’s a good thing to be foolishly gay once in a while. — Horace
Every old poem is sacred. — Horace
Nothing’s beautiful from every point of view. — Horace
Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans. It is lovely to be silly at the right moment. — Horace
Anger is a short madness. — Horace
Fidelity is the sister of justice. — Horace
Fortune makes a fool of those she favors too much. — Horace
You traverse the world in search of happiness, which is within the reach of every man. A contented mind confers it on all. — Horace
Pale death, with impartial step, knocks at the hut of the poor and the towers of kings. — Horace
He who would begun has half done. Dare to be wise; begin. — Horace
I hate the irreverent rabble and keep them far from me. — Horace
He tosses aside his paint-pots and his words a foot and a half long. — Horace
The envious man grows lean at the success of his neighbor. — Horace
Good sense is both the first principal and the parent source of good writing. — Horace
This is a fault common to all singers, that among their friends they will never sing when they are asked; unasked, they will never desist. — Horace
O imitators, you slavish herd! — Horace
If a man’s fortune does not fit him, it is like the shoe in the story; if too large it trips him up, if too small it pinches him. — Horace
Whatever advice you give, be short. — Horace
While fools shun one set of faults they run into the opposite one. — Horace
It is a sweet and seemly thing to die for one’s country. — Horace
The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes. — Horace
Begin, be bold and venture to be wise. — Horace
The man is either mad, or he is making verses. — Horace
Once a word has been allowed to escape, it cannot be recalled. — Horace
Refrain from asking what going to happen tomorrow, and everyday that fortune grants you, count as gain. — Horace
He who postpones the hour of living is like the rustic who waits for the river to run out before he crosses. — Horace
Make a good use of the present. — Horace
Pale Death beats equally at the poor man’s gate and at the palaces of kings. — Horace
In labouring to be concise, I become obscure. — Horace
He is armed without who is innocent within, be this thy screen, and this thy wall of brass. — Horace
Life is largely a matter of expectation. — Horace
Don’t think, just do. — Horace
If matters go badly now, they will not always be so. — Horace
The power of daring anything their fancy suggest, as always been conceded to the painter and the poet. — Horace
We are just statistics, born to consume resources. — Horace
Mountains will go into labour, and a silly little mouse will be born. — Horace
Who then is free? The wise man who can command himself. — Horace
Undeservedly you will atone for the sins of your fathers. — Horace
Let your literary compositions be kept from the public eye for nine years at least. — Horace
Words will not fail when the matter is well considered. — Horace
Few cross the river of time and are able to reach non-being. Most of them run up and down only on this side of the river. But those who when they know the law follow the path of the law, they shall reach the other shore and go beyond the realm of death. — Horace
Usually the modest person passes for someone reserved, the silent for a sullen person. — Horace
Your own safety is at stake when your neighbor’s wall is ablaze. — Horace
It is your business when the wall next door catches fire. — Horace
Poets wish to profit or to please. — Horace
A heart well prepared for adversity in bad times hopes, and in good times fears for a change in fortune. — Horace
Money is a handmaiden, if thou knowest how to use it; a mistress, if thou knowest not. — Horace
A word, once sent abroad, flies irrevocably. — Horace
Lawyers are men who hire out their words and anger. — Horace
Choose a subject equal to your abilities; think carefully what your shoulders may refuse, and what they are capable of bearing. — Horace
Suffering is but another name for the teaching of experience, which is the parent of instruction and the schoolmaster of life. — Horace
It is your concern when your neighbor’s wall is on fire. — Horace
Cease to inquire what the future has in store, and take as a gift whatever the day brings forth. — Horace
A picture is a poem without words. — Horace
I never think at all when I write. Nobody can do two things at the same time and do them both well. — Horace
In adversity remember to keep an even mind. — Horace
We are free to yield to truth. — Horace
Only a stomach that rarely feels hungry scorns common things. — Horace
Subdue your passion or it will subdue you. — Horace
Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it. — Horace
He has the deed half done who has made a beginning. — Horace
Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant. — Horace
Avoid inquisitive persons, for they are sure to be gossips, their ears are open to hear, but they will not keep what is entrusted to them. — Horace
A host is like a general: calamities often reveal his genius. — Horace
It is no great art to say something briefly when, like Tacitus, one has something to say; when one has nothing to say, however, and none the less writes a whole book and makes truth into a liar – that I call an achievement. — Horace
The pen is the tongue of the mind. — Horace
We rarely find anyone who can say he has lived a happy life, and who, content with his life, can retire from the world like a satisfied guest. — Horace
Life grants nothing to us mortals without hard work. — Horace
He gains everyone’s approval who mixes the pleasant with the useful. — Horace
Seize the day, and put the least possible trust in tomorrow. — Horace
A good and faithful judge ever prefers the honorable to the expedient. — Horace
When things are steep, remember to stay level-headed. — Horace
The disgrace of others often keeps tender minds from vice. — Horace
You may drive out nature with a pitchfork, yet she’ll be constantly running back. — Horace
The lofty pine is oftenest shaken by the winds; High towers fall with a heavier crash; And the lightning strikes the highest mountain. — Horace
To have a great man for a friend seems pleasant to those who have never tried it; those who have, fear it. — Horace
A word once uttered can never be recalled. — Horace
Sad people dislike the happy, and the happy the sad; the quick thinking the sedate, and the careless the busy and industrious. — Horace
It is courage, courage, courage, that raises the blood of life to crimson splendor. Live bravely and present a brave front to adversity. — Horace
A portion of mankind take pride in their vices and pursue their purpose; many more waver between doing what is right and complying with what is wrong. — Horace
Wisdom is not wisdom when it is derived from books alone. — Horace
It is the false shame of fools to try to conceal wounds that have not healed. — Horace
Whoever cultivates the golden mean avoids both the poverty of a hovel and the envy of a palace. — Horace
The foolish are like ripples on water, For whatsoever they do is quickly effaced; But the righteous are like carvings upon stone, For their smallest act is durable. — Horace
What we learn only through the ears makes less impression upon our minds than what is presented to the trustworthy eye. — Horace
One wanders to the left, another to the right. Both are equally in error, but, are seduced by different delusions. — Horace
I strive to be brief but I become obscure. — Horace
If you would have me weep, you must first of all feel grief yourself. — Horace
Clogged with yesterday’s excess, the body drags the mind down with it. — Horace
No verse can give pleasure for long, nor last, that is written by drinkers of water. — Horace
The one who cannot restrain their anger will wish undone, what their temper and irritation prompted them to do. — Horace
You must avoid sloth, that wicked siren. — Horace
Always keep your composure. You can’t score from the penalty box; and to win, you have to score. — Horace
Knowledge without education is but armed injustice. — Horace
A shoe that is too large is apt to trip one, and when too small, to pinch the feet. So it is with those whose fortune does not suit them. — Horace
Remember when life’s path is steep to keep your mind even. — Horace
It is when I struggle to be brief that I become obscure. — Horace
We are often deterred from crime by the disgrace of others. — Horace
Great effort is required to arrest decay and restore vigor. One must exercise proper deliberation, plan carefully before making a move, and be alert in guarding against relapse following a renaissance. — Horace
No poems can please for long or live that are written by water drinkers. — Horace
He has not lived badly whose birth and death has been unnoticed by the world. — Horace
Why harass with eternal purposes a mind to weak to grasp them? — Horace
It is of no consequence of what parents a man is born, as long as he be a man of merit. — Horace
I teach that all men are mad. — Horace
Time will bring to light whatever is hidden; it will cover up and conceal what is now shining in splendor. — Horace
Labor diligently to increase your property. — Horace
